Lock



April 28, 1964 J. F. WELLEKENS 3,130,572

LOCK

Filed April 21. 1961 s Sheets -Sheet 1 INVENTOR Jokn/ 7T WeZZe/Iem ATT RNEY April 28, 1964 J, F. WELLEKENS LOCK 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21, 1961 INVENTOR A ORNEY April 28, 1964 J. F. WELLEKENS 3,130,572

LOCK

Filed April 21, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR John 7. Walk/{e716 United States Patent Ofiice 3,13%,572 Patented Apr. 28, 1964 3,139,572 LUCK John Wellekens, Staten island, N321, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Hotel Security Systems Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 21, 1961, Ser. No. 194,583 9 Claims. (Cl. 7l383) This invention relates to door locks, and more particularly to the type shown in my Patent No. 2,970,466, dated February 7, 1961, and adapted for use on doors of hotel and motel rooms or other places where a change of occupancy often takes place, or where it is desirable for the keying mechanism or combination of a lock to be either occasionally or often changed.

It is well known that occupants of hotel rooms often carry oil the key of the room occupied by them, and while such practice is usually due to absent-mindedness on the part of the hotel guest, there are instances where the key will be deliberately appropriated by a thief with the intention of subsequently returning to the room for the purpose of pilfering the property of the then occupant.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a lock which can have its keying mechanism or combination quickly changed to fit any one of a large number of difierently-contoured keys by the simple insertion and turning of a master key in a part of the lock, and the insertion of the key to which the keying mechanism is to be adjusted to cause the lock to thereafter respond to the new key. The removal of the master key then results in the lock being adapted for operation by the new key, and

until the combination is again changed by the reinsertion of the master key and another new key, the combination will remain as set and the key for which the lock was adjusted will be effective to repeatedly open the lock.

It is an object of the invention to provide a combina tion-changing attachment which can be readily fitted to prevailing door locks; which will be so constructed as to enable said attachment to be adjusted at any time for the reception of a new key by the turning of a master key for a revolution and the returning of such key to its initial position.

With these objects and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in view, I have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

FIG. '1 is a vertical sectional view through a lock constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the same;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 33 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the lock;

FIG. 5 is a sectional View, taken substantially on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 shows the manner in which the recessed locking ring is positioned in the housing;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view through the lock cylinder;

FIG. 8 is a sectional View, taken substantially on the line 88 of FIG. 7, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing how the lock is applied to a door;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view through the cylinder and associated parts, and

FIG. 11 shows the key-retaining means.

It is intended that the combination of the keying mechanism of the improved lock shall be changed by the use of a master key which, when inserted in one of the two keyholes with which the lock is provided, and turned onequarter turn to the left, will permit any one of a very substantial number of keys to be used for insertion within the second keyhole to operate the latch. After the lastmentioned key has been inserted and has been turned to the left for a one-quarter turn and the master key returned to its initial or zero position, the combination of the keying mechanism will have been changed and will respond only to the new key or to a duplicate of it.

The new door key cannot be turned to the left when the master key is not in place. That is to say, the combination of the keying mechanism cannot possibly be changed without the use of the master key. When the new key is turned to the right it will function normally to retract the latch and permit the opening of the door. In addition to its function of changing the combination, the master key, when turned to the right, will over-control the latch and open the door. If the master key should inadvertently be turned to the left it will not, in and of itself, change the combination. A new key must be used in combination with the master key to elfect a change of the combination. In short, with the aid of the master key, the keying mechanism memorizes, so to speak, the profile of a new door key. Thus, it becomes feasible in hotel operation for example, to actually change the combination of the lock on a door for each new occupant and to eliminate the possibility of a previous occupant making use of the key which he obtained when occupying the room, or a duplicate thereof.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates a door to which a lock 3 of known type is fitted, the lock having a conventional latch 7 which is retractible by rotative movement of the spindle 8 on which the knob 9 is fitted in the usual manner. The lock thus far described is one of known construction as conventionally fitted to many doors.

The improved mechanism is contained within a housing 1 3 which is arranged to be mounted over the front or outer face of the door over the lock 3, and by means of screws or equivalent fastening elements extended through holes 12 in the door, the screws being inserted frpm the inside face of the door. A curved flange 15 can be provided on the housing 10 and which can constitute a handle for opening the door. The housing also includes a hollow boss 16 in which the controlling mechanism is contained.

When the housing ltl is fitted over the outer face of the door as above described, the spindle 8, which is of square or non-round shape, will fit into a complementary aperture 31 in a hub 39 rotatively mounted in the boss 16, the hub 34 being rotative upon the screw shown at 32. The hub 36 carries an interrupted gear 17 having two separate sets of teeth, one set of the teeth thereon being in mesh with teeth on a fragmentary gear 53 mounted on a rotative lock part 55 extending from a conventional cylinder lock 54 fitted in the lower part of the boss 16 of the housing.

The lock 54 is that which is operated by a master key inserted from the outside of the door through a lower keyhole, the keyhole for the lock 54 being normally covred by a hinged closure plate 62 as seen in FIG. 4, so that only one keyhole, namely, that shown at 18 is visible to the room user. The keyhole 18 is provided in the cup-shaped member 89 fitted over one end of a lock cylinder shown at 19.

The second or upper toothed portion of the gear 17 meshes with teeth 81 on a fragmentary gear 5 mounted on the hub '14 of the cylinder 19, shown separately in FIGS. 7 and 8. The cylinder 19, constituting a part of the latch-operating mechanism, and containing the keying mechanism, is provided with a plurality of transverse slots 20 in which the key plates or tumblers which are to be adjusted to the new keys when desired, are slidably mounted. Stop plates 22 are arranged around the key plates 21.

At 23 is shown a non-rotative pressure ring which loosely encircles the cylinder 19 and conforms closely to the inside of the boss 16 of the housing as will be noted in FIG. 6. Said pressure ring 23 is provided with three recesses 24 (FIGS. 1 and 6) for engagement by three balls 25 maintained in a plate 6 (FIG. 5) loosely mounted on the hub 14 of the cylinder 1 and having a slight rotative movement, which movement is attained by means of the teeth 35 provided on the plate 6, said teeth engaging with teeth 36 on a dog 28 mounted on the hub 30 and having a nose 37 maintained against a cam 51 keyed on the lock extension 55 and biased by means of a leaf spring 61. This arrangement is such that when the lock extension 55 is rotatively moved by a master key inserted in the lock 54 and turned to the left as viewed in PEG. 4, cam 51 will move the dog 28 rotatively in a manner to slightly rotate the plate 6 to thereby bring the balls 25 into the recesses 24 as seen in FIG. 1, and which represents the positions of the parts when a master key has been inserted and has been turned for a quarter turn toward the left. In the above-described position, no pressure axially of the cylinder 19 is being applied on the stop plates 22 and hence no pressure is being applied on the key plates 21 so that the key plates 21 are free for up and down movement to adjust themselves to the contour of any key that may be inserted through the keyhole 18. When there is no master key in the lock 54- the plate 6 and pressure ring 23 will be so arranged that the balls 25 will be disposed slightly out of the recesses 24 with the result that pressure plate 23 will be urged toward the left in FIG. 1 to thereby compress the stop plates between it and the interior surfaces of the housing and prevent up and down sliding movement of the key or tumbler'plates.

As will be seen in FIG. 3, the lock extension 55 carries a disk 52 having a peripheral recess 65 engaged by 2. lug 79 on the gear 53 and adapted, at certain times, for engagement by the nose 66 of a dog 26 mounted on the hub 30. The dog 26 is provided at its opposite end with an extremity 67 for engagement with a notch 68 in a disk 4 on the hub 14 of the cylinder 19. The hub of the cylinder 19 is transversely slotted, as shown at 69, and a spring 13 located in the slot 69 is efiective to bias a dog 14a into engagement with an arcuate notch 70 provided in disk 4, while another dog shown at 71 is adapted for engagement with a shoulder 82 on gear 5 to set the combination without removing the latching control.

After a master key has been placed in the lock 54 and turned to the left, the key for which the combination is to be adjusted, is inserted in the keyhole 18 and the tumbler plates 21 will adjust themselves to the contour of the key so inserted. The master key remains in the lower keyhole while the upper key is being inserted and the master key cannot be removed while the upper key is in its zero or removal position. {The upper key is now turned counterclockwise to adjust the stop plates, for one complete revolution and then removed.

When the master key is turned to the left, it rotates the disk 52 so that the nose 66 of the dog 26 enters the cutout 65 in disk 52 removing the nose 67 from the notch 68 in the ring 4. The nose 66 on the dog 26 is caused to engage cut-out 65 by means of a pin 70a (FIG. 5) projecting laterally from dog 28 and engaging against a shoulder 71 provided on the dog 26. Thus, when dog 28 is rotatively moved by the action of the cam 51, the pin 70 operative against shoulder 71 will disengage nose 67 from the notch 68 and frees ring 21, permitting its rotation to control the bolt.

FIG. ll discloses the key-retaining means which consists of the end tumbler plate 21a provided at its lower end with a lug portion 72 adapted to enter a recess 73 in the housing and being provided in its upper end with a notch 74 for engagement with a rib 75 .on the housing. This arrangement is such that the plate is in constant ongagement with the rear end notch of the key and acts to prevent withdrawal of the key except when the key is in zero position, or that position where the plate is free of engagement with both the rib 75 and the notch 73.

From the foregoing, the operation of the lock will be understood. The keying mechanism of the lock is altered by the insertion of a master key, fitting the lower lock mechanism 54 and turning the master key one-quarter turn to the left as viewed in FIG. 4. This releases the pressure on the stop plates 22 and prepares the tumbler plates 21, 21a for adjustment to the contour of any key then inserted through the keyhole 18. The selected key to which the keying mechanism is to be adjusted, is then inserted through keyhole 18 and it is turned one revolution to the left. The master key is then returned to its initial position, locking the keying mechanism parts in the position which they assumed to fit the new key. The master key is then removed and thereafter the lock will respond only to the new key or a duplicate thereof. The new key will not turn to the left until the master key is inserted in the lower keyhole. When turned to the right it will release the latch and open the door.

Having thus described a single embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures com ing within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. A lock having a housing, a locking mechanism located therein and controlled by a master key, a boltoperating part, a keying mechanism coupled to the boltcontrolling part, said keying mechanism including slidably adjustable, non-rotative stops and tumblers associated therewith, means operative against the stops to hold the same in adjusted positions relative to one another so that their tumblers will accommodate a key of a certain contour, means controlled by the master key for releasing the stop-holding means and maintaining the same in a released position when said master key is turned to a predetermined extent and is maintained in such position whereby said stops and their associated tumblers can adjust themselves to the contour .of a differently-shaped key inserted in the keying mechanism and turned in the same directions as that in which the master key was turned to release the stops, the stop-releasing means being eifective to cause the stops to be locked in a position to thereafter accommodate the diiferently-contoured key when the master key is returned to its initial position to lock the ;tops in position to accommodate the diiferently-contoured 2. In a lock, a housing, key tumbler mechanism contained therein, such mechanism including a plurality of adjustable stops and tumblers associated therewith, means for llocking the stops together in selected positions of adjustment so that the tumblers will be in a position for the acceptance of a key of a certain contour, a controlling lock and means operated thereby for freeing the stops upon the turning in one direction of a master key in said controlling lock so that the stops and their tumblers can adjust themselves to the contour of a new key then inserted in the tumbler mechanism, said stop-freeing means being efiective to lock the stops in said adjusted position when the master key is returned to its position of insertion in the controlling lock and is withdrawn therefrom.

3. In a lock, a rotative bolt-operating means, a locking device coupled thereto and capable of operatively moving the bolt-operating means, said locking device including tumbler-stops and tumblers associated therewith, means for holding the stops in pressed-together, contiguous relation and in selected positions of adjustment relatively to one another whereby the tumblers will accept a key of a specific contour, means for exerting a pressure on the stops to hold the same in such position of adjustment, a controlling lock, means coupling said controlling lock to said pressure-exerting means whereby the turning of a master key in the controlling lock will cause a release of pressure of said pressure-exerting means on the stops, so that said stops and their tumblers can then be shifted to accommodate them to the contour of a different key inserted through the stops, the pressure of the pressure-exerting means on the stops being restored when the master key is turned in a direction reverse to that in which it was turned to release said pressure.

4. In a lock as provided for in claim 3, wherein the pressure-applying means consists of a rotative plate and a non-rotative plate disposed in front of the stops, and pressure-imposing elements interposed between the plates, seats in both plates in which said pressure-applying elements are disposed when the stops are free for adjustment to fit any key, the rotative plate being movable by turning of the master key to move the pressure-imposing elements out .of the seats in the non-rotative plate upon rotation of the rotative plate, whereby said non-rotative plate will be caused to exert pressure on the stops behind it.

5. In a lock as provided for in claim 4, wherein the pressure-imposing elements are balls and the seats are concave recesses. l l

6. In a lock a housing containing a tumbler mechanism and a bolt-operating element con-trolled thereby, said tumbler mechanism including a plurality of adjustable stops, each of which carries an adjustable tumbler, a plate for exerting pressure on the stops to hold the same in selected positions of adjustment to enable their tumblers to accommodate themselves to the contour of a specific key, a rotative element and means interposed between the same and the plate for imposing pressure on the plate for transmission to the stops, a controlling lock having means coupling it to the rotative element in a manner to cause rotative movement of the rotative element when a master key is turned in a specific direction and for a specific distance in the controlling lock, and means for causing the plate to reduce its pressure on the stops to thereby permit adjustment of said stops to a new key upon the insertion of the new key in the tumbler mechanism and when the master key is turned for a specific distance in one direction, and for causing the pressure on the plate to be restored when the master key is returned to the position in which it was inserted in the controlling lock.

7. In a lock as provided for in claim 6, wherein the means interposed between the plate and rotative element is a number of balls, seats for said balls in the opposing faces of the plate and rotative element, the seats in the rotative element being aligned with those in the plate when the rotative element is moved by the operation of the controlling lock to pressure-relieving position, and the seats in both the plate and rotative element being disaligned when the plate is in its pressure-imposing position.

8. In a lock, tumbler mechanism including stops carrying adjustable tumblers, means for holding the stops together in positions to enable their tumblers to accept a key of a certain contour, a controlling lock accepting a master key, means controlled by said controlling lock for either maintaining the stops in a definite position of adjustment or for permitting the shifting of the stops relatively to one another for the acceptance of a key of different contour, said means being effective to release the stops for shifting movement by turning of the master key in the lock, and the stops being shifted to accommodate a new key by the insertion of said new key in the tumbler mechanism and by the return of the master key in the controlling lock back to the stop-release position.

9. In a lock, a rotative bolt-operating element, a keyoperated locking means for operating the bolt-operating element, said locking device including adjustable stops and tumblers associated therewith, means for exerting axial pressure on the stops to hold the stops against shifting and to maintain them in a position so that their tumblers will accept a specific key, a controlling lock coupled to the pressure-exerting means and efiective to cause the release of the pressure of said means on the stops by the insertion and turning of a master key in said controlling lock.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,004,904 Rees Oct. 3, 1911 1,522,572 Benham Jan. 13, 1925 1,826,595 Benham Oct. 6, 1931 1,917,302 July 11, 1933 2,524,696 Ellis Oct. 3, 1950 2,970,466 Wellekens Feb. 7, 1961 

6. IN A LOCK A HOUSING CONTAINING A TUMBLER MECHANISM AND A BOLT-OPERATING ELEMENT CONTROLLED THEREBY, SAID TUMBLER MECHANISM INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ADJUSTABLE STOPS, EACH OF WHICH CARRIES AN ADJUSTABLE TUMBLER, A PLATE FOR EXERTING PRESSURE ON THE STOPS TO HOLD THE SAME IN SELECTED POSITIONS OF ADJUSTMENT TO ENABLE THEIR TUMBLERS TO ACCOMMODATE THEMSELVES TO THE CONTOUR OF A SPECIFIC KEY, A ROTATIVE ELEMENT AND MEANS INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE SAME AND THE PLATE FOR IMPOSING PRESSURE ON THE PLATE FOR TRANSMISSION TO THE STOPS, A CONTROLLING LOCK HAVING MEANS COUPLING IT TO THE ROTATIVE ELEMENT IN A MANNER TO CAUSE ROTATIVE MOVEMENT OF THE ROTATIVE ELEMENT WHEN A MASTER KEY IS TURNED IN A SPECIFIC DIRECTION AND FOR A SPECIFIC DISTANCE IN THE CONTROLLING LOCK, AND MEANS FOR CAUSING THE PLATE TO REDUCE ITS PRESSURE ON THE STOPS TO THEREBY PERMIT ADJUSTMENT OF SAID STOPS TO A NEW KEY UPON THE INSERTION OF THE NEW KEY IN THE TUMBLER MECHANISM AND WHEN THE MASTER KEY IS TURNED FOR A SPECIFIC DISTANCE IN ONE DIRECTION, AND FOR CAUSING THE PRESSURE ON THE PLATE 